


The Crow´s Shuten

by Freewilllife



Series: The beginning of a New Era! [5]
Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Anime, Gen, Manga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 04:06:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13516260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freewilllife/pseuds/Freewilllife
Summary: Zeno is dreaming...quite strange pictures...about the Dragon Gods and King Hiryuu and then the jewel is stolen...by a boy of the Crow s (Shuten)





	1. Chapter 1

**5."The Crow s Shuten"**

_“Hi useless._

_It s not possible to train them ,right?”_

_Cause you don t even have power.”_

_Shuten to Zeno_

During their journey, the man of the North had called his horse by the sweetest, most endearing pet names. The 8-year-old boy nearly had the impression that he would be playing Peeping Tom.

Eun, so the name of this lovely creature was climbing the rangy way with ease. Zeno was still not quite inured to this way of transportation and was still pressing his little legs strongly again the belly of Geuntae s "sweet lady".

In fact, Zeno was even glad, that he was occupied with keeping himself on the horse s back. Less time to wonder, if the elders of his tribe would be pleased to see him.

In fact, Zeno has never observed that the chief of their village had cast somebody out before.

The whole business reeked of more…much more. The "Laws of Creation" might be a reason and most likely the strongest cause, but still, his people were famous for their generosity and compassion….

Even if King Hiryuu had thought that Zeno lived in the mountains, his village lay on the tail of one of the great mountains. They called him "The old man", since it was supposed to be formed like the head of an old guy with a beard.

Though Zeno would have given him a different name: "Shabby monster". The guy wasn t a beauty, that was for sure.

Geuntae avoided the circumjacent villages and Zeno had a good idea, why he would choose the dangerous mountainous path through the highest heights.

The faces were quite steep and unlikely to be climbed easily by bandits. The way was narrow, and most people, above else travelling merchants wouldn t use this passage through the mountains.

The only people, that might be a real danger out there-safe for the rocks that could fall on some one's head- were "The Crows".

There were three kinds of folks occupying the area, where Zeno s tribe lived since the day, the first of his ancestors had travelled the sea. The "Wind s Call", a tribe that lived near the temple of the Ouryuu. The strongest believers of that Dragon God.

Basically every god had a tribe, who was fanatical in their set of beliefs and the "Wind s Call" was the one of the Yellow Dragon God. Their inhabited area was fertile in comparison to the one of Zeno s tribe,laying near a current of the "Yellow River". However if you had asked the other two tribes,definitely, they would have argued about that name. The "Wind s Call" was not as eager in their adherence of the "Laws" like Zeno s tribe, but the Ouryuu was their main god.

_The land they occupied in those times, is later inhabited by the Wind Tribe._

"The Crows" were the true inhabitants of the mountains. Skilful, swift warriors. People believed that "The Crows" were in fact spiritual beings, flying from one top of a hill to the next steep cliff, just to disappear in the next moment; transforming themselves into birds to distract their enemies.

They said, that often before "The Crows" attack, flock of birds were encircling the passing merchants, the families and groups unfortunately choosing the narrow passage through the mountains.

In addition quite a few within this tribe adorned their hair with bird s feathers, or dyed it with a special color, some even sharpened their teeth.

The penetrating mist might be another cause for this story.

For fear of those people many tribes eschewed the company of these mountains.

So it would have been usually quite a risky effort to travel along those trails...

When Zeno and Geuntae built up their camp, dark shadowy figures scurried past them, but never got within the reach of the burning fire.

Like the ghosts they were supposed to be, "The Crows" had diminished their presence, leaving only a bird s feather behind.

The young boy assumed that the rumour had been indeed true.

"The Crows" are said to be "the King s people".

It had been quite a shock to the people of Zeno s tribe. The bloodthirsty birds, mysterious in their way of life, had hooked up with the mysterious king.

That was why, Zeno s natural fear of the "Crows", the spirits of these mountains, subsided with each day.

Though in the night, following after his "weird dream", he saw these people for the first time.

The 8-year-old boy was constantly thinking about that dream...his true meaning.

When he had awoken after that dream, not just his hands had been bloody, there had been also blood streaming down his nose.

The word of King Hiryuu pestered him...Was it the Dragon God s interference? Had they wished to show him? Why? Zeno was just a mere boy, nothing special about him.

Though...it was important to notice the following: There was a contradiction. If the picture of the "Laws" had been destroyed on the same day, King Hiryuu could not have been responsible for it.

The King was born in a human body...and it was real flesh...Zeno remembered that he had felt the body heat when the King had caressed his cheeks.

Just like the skin of a normal human being. The aura, the soul was different, but the body was human. At least it was not the astral projection, he had encountered before.

How was it possible that the King had appeared as a human being and simultaneously he had been present as a Dragon God?

And Zeno considered it to be more than unlikely that the Dragon God had destroyed the picture and then immediately reincarnated in a human body.

That sounded like one of those cheesy stories. After all the regulators are the ancient gods and not the minor gods, like the Dragon Gods!

When he remembered...then...White! The tail had been white, meaning it had not been the Red Dragon, but the White Dragon that had destroyed the picture!

So it had been indeed the White Dragon...maybe helping the Red Dragon?

But would it make sense? King Hiryuu had said, that the Dragon Gods didn t like the human beings...at least that was, what Zeno remembered. Why had the White Dragon been so furious?

Had King Hiryuu lied? But the other Dragon Gods stayed in their dimension, meaning that just the Red Dragon had really cared.

The person had been nearly mad with anger...Zeno still memorised the knotted, hot feeling occupying his gut.

This much passion for the mortals...

Finally he had an idea. Maybe the person that had destroyed the picture and the feeling Zeno had felt had two different sources. Maybe even the thoughts...Maybe the White Dragon had been mad with the human beings! Because he remembered a sentence,most likely King Hiryuu had said to them.

Maybe as a form of explanation?...And the destruction of the picture had been to help King Hiryuu or had the White Dragon felt betrayed? Who knows? Had he tried to punish King Hiryuu by destroying the "Laws" in his temple?

After all a god giving up his existence as a nearly immortal being just to help the human beings...What a strange god!

King Hiryuu surely was unique.

That was right. There was another question : Are King Hiryuu and the Red Dragon really one soul and one consciousness or had something else interfered?

Zeno wished to find out more about this subject. Maybe he could look a little further in that matter...Maybe the Dragon Gods would grant him another short glance at the past...If that weird dream really had been a shadow of King Hiryuu s past.

In order to solve the puzzle, Zeno had lain down, looking at the stars, far away from here, silently illuminating the sky along with the gentle face of the moon.

Every so often there had been noises of the animals passing by the two strangers.

An owl had announced its arrival, it was the last thought, that Zeno had experienced, before his conscious started to fade.

Another dark room, but it had not been the scary kind of blackness, just a dim, gentle light was surrounding Zeno.

The boy remembered the feeling...Indeed, just like the feeling, he had encountered, when he had met King Hiryuu.

_Far away in the distance, there he was: The Red Dragon God._

The mighty long body of the Dragon was radiately glowing like the sun. It was hard for Zeno to discern the single body parts, since the light was gentle, but still hurt his eyes,if he looked too long at this godly being.

The Dragon God lay there, his body intertwined like the one of a beautiful snake.

The eyes were closed, but every so often would slightly open to let the world in.

Was there be some kind of noise? Zeno doesn t know anymore. However, suddenly the mighty head of the snake like god was lifted. The eyes...Zeno remembers them even now.

It were his eyes, yet it were not his eyes. They bore the same color, this rare blue with much of a fiery red in them, however, the feeling they gave Zeno were fundamental different.

Now he believed that he was standing before a god. This being had an aloof air around him. As if nothing really would touch him in the slightest.

Zeno could detect no warmth. No care. Not even the slightest bit of it. Was this god really King Hiryuu?

Then something changed. There was a certain sparkle in his eyes. Curiousness replaced the boredom.

Strange...there it was again...a strong surge of emotion...Zeno wished to touch it...This big ...something...Zeno wanted to see it. Maybe it would be warm...

The big Red Dragon lowered his mighty head...Wasn t there a certain interest, maybe a certain positive feeling in these eyes?

What?

A boy was standing there...pretty near to Zeno, maybe a little more than one huge step away from him, much younger than the last time, he had seen King Hiryuu. Maybe just 2 or 3 years older than Zeno. Slowly he was rustling at the ground, it seemed as if he searched for something.

The red flowing hair...The Amethyst-like eyes...Zeno jumped to his feet, nearly falling over his blanket, he ran to that boy.

It couldn t be...Was he here? Zeno didn t wonder, why...He just wished to see him. To know more about him.

Something was falling to the ground, Zeno couldn t see anything...it was too dark.

There was something over him, struggling to get free, he pedalled with his feet and arms and screamed

What was that?!...Zeno s heart was pounding heart in his chest. His breath was ragged and came out in fits and starts.

In his hands was the cloak...The cloak King Hiryuu had given him. What?

Zeno s mind has been still pretty dizzy...

" _What the hell are you doing?!_ ", Geuntae shouted. If Zeno had ever not wished to see him, then now. His face showed such clear signs of anger, that he might have died every second due to heart failure.

Still pretty dense, Zeno was sitting at the ground with the cloak in his lap.

Shocked both were starring at the cloak...Empty!

With a pale face, Geuntae was asking: _"Who? Have you seen the culprit?"_

His legs felt shaky, Zeno would have nearly fallen a second time on his face, when he tried to get up, still holding the cloak in his hands.

" _Empty! What should he do?Would they still take him back?_!"

What a funny feeling in his belly.

" _Zeno!, Hey!_ "

Geuntae was shaking him roughly on his shoulders.

 _"Have you seen who did it_?"

The boy was biting on his lips. He wasn t allowed to cry now. He needed a solution! Anything!

" _There was a boy_ ," Zeno hesitated. He knew how it would sound like," _He looked like ...like the king. But much younger. In the first moment I thought..."_

The 8-year-old boy had not much hope. Most likely he had no clue...

Geuntae really presented Zeno an expression of astonishment.

" _How could you tell, what eye color that guy had, ...It was dark. In the middle of the night_!"

Obviously distressed, Geuntae was shaking his head.

" _He could tell what eye color he had...that sounds like a big fat fairy tale, but that is just my humble opinion_."

Roughly he was grabbing Zeno at his right shoulder and was looking him in the eye.

" _Listen. I don t care, what you did with the shard of King Hiryuu s treasure. You can keep it for yourself, or maybe throw it away. It really doesn t matter to me."_

That was a lie. A blatant lie. Zeno knew it and Geuntae knew it. There was no way, that he wasn t hurt, that Zeno had lost it. The important item, the king had given to him.

" _But what I don t like,is when a guy, I don t care how old you are, is blatantly lying to my face_." Geuntae was shaking Zeno painfully.

" _Do you hear me?_!"

Zeno was tearing his arm away from Geuntae. He had enough! He was angry. He knew that he had messed up. If he had reacted better, he could have prevented it!

The boy was observing the area. Where had the boy come from? The step walls would hinder most people to approach this path. There must be somewhere a passage...If that boy had not thrown the cloak over his head, then he might have had a chance to see, where the guy disappeared.

But like this. He had to search for it himself. Geuntae didn t believe him and he needed that shard.

It was given to him...So he had to watch over it. Maybe it was a way back to his tribe, maybe not.

Now was the time to act!

In silence he was going up and down the walls, looking for the way, the boy had run through. If he had climbed the walls, Zeno would have most likely still seen him.

Finally,after a whole lot of time -Zeno didn t know how long he had searched for the path, but it did seem awfully long- he was able to see a narrow rift between the walls. Narrow enough that just a child was able to run through it. An adult might had to bend down in order to slot into.

Carefully Zeno listened, if anybody was approaching him-his enemy was one of the famous "Crows" after all-but nothing.

How could he had been just so..naive! Of course, It had been not King Hiryuu who most likely already was walking towards the South.

Besides Zeno had heard that occasionally people with flaming red hair were born into this tribe.

Of course...The boy was from the tribe of "the Crows"!

It was so dark...Geuntae was right. Why had he seen that boy so clearly? Zeno had no better night vision than most people...

Did the Dragon Gods wished to show him that boy? Why? For what reason?

If Geuntae had went to bed?...Zeno got goose bumps.

If something would happen to him, that would be the end. He was not a warrior. Never been. Zeno was the clumsy kind of person. Additionally his tribe was not very fond of battles, even though there were fighters in his tribe. No tribe would have been able to survive without them.

Though Zeno most likely would never become one. He had not only the habit of dropping certain items, no, he was also one of the "strongest". If the last person would be hailed, then Zeno most likely was a hero.

He was so weak, that his grand-father had just blatantly told him, that Zeno should hide in times of crisis. That would be safer for every one. Including him. After all Zeno was good at running. So he should rather run away.

That was the reason the young boy now had quite the funny feeling about going inside of a riff, in the middle of the night, in total blackness, while he searched for a person, that was part of the most dangerous tribes Zeno knew.

A dim ray of light was tearing the darkness apart. Zeno was outstretching his hand. Moon light. Thankfully they had a full moon that night.

At the other side of the riff, there was a small river...Clear water was disappearing underground...Carefully Zeno took a mouth full of the sweet liquid. It had been quite exhausting to search for this passage.

But what to do next? There was a small plateau...Zeno didn t know that something like this existed here. The earth was thrown up. The "Crows" seemed to have planted crops inside of the soil.

Of course it was the same earth like the one, Zeno knew. A dry and fruitless soil. The reason for the attacks most likely and the reason why they joined King Hiryuu. However the question was still there: What to do next, Zeno?

It was frightening. When he listened really carefully...There were noises. Very low. But still. People were shouting. What happened there, behind the trees?

Slowly...Zeno approached the noises. Soon he was able to see a big fire, the flame was dancing in the dark of the night. And just like the flame. The people were moving. Gracefully and wild. Men and women alike. Children. Elders.

The whole tribe must have been on their feet. Hailing the moon. Their light clothes were adorned with feathers, small pearls, made out of wood.

Their singing...It was an old song. The one sung by the people to praise life itself. Songs without a relation to a god were quite rare. Zeno loved the song, the rhythm. It was enchanting. How could so many people just look so beautiful, even though some of their movements were out of sync?

The emotions on their faces...The joy of the lovers, embracing each other, mothers who held their children close, fathers who jumped around their moppets.

Sisters, brothers, parents, grandparents, cousins, friends...

However their dancing had a sweetly tragic undertone. Sometimes during their dance, one could observe occasional tears in the edge of an eye.

The next song was a song about war, about battles and glorious heroes, protecting their tribe and sacrificing their lives for the well being of others.

The warriors of the tribe held their weapons high, were stomping with their feet. The others were clapping in their hands.

The melancholic atmosphere was now tangible. The fear was springing upwards through the surface.

Zeno had almost laughed.

Near the fire, a young boy was dancing, holding high the spear, he was carrying. Dark lines were painted on his face. The red hair, reaching his shoulders was blowing in the night.

How long had he searched?

"What are you doing here?", a grim voice asked him from behind.

The singing stopped.

Zeno s heart jumped. Slowly he was turning around.

A woman was standing there. Her dark hair merged with the blackness of the night. Her eyes were shooting lightning at Zeno.

She was quite a small person herself, but the spear she was directing towards Zeno s throat, let the boy s heart sink down.

"Who is that. Min-Ji? Do you know him?"

The woman called Min-Ji smiled. But it was this kind of smile...that let Zeno s head forget how it should function.

What a truly terrifying woman!

More and more people came around, encircling the 8 year old boy.

Their faces were all but friendly.

Zeno was petrified that they would just safe the questions and instead just end his life. After all, he was just a stupid 8 year old boy, running in the middle of the night inside of the village of the "Crows", one of the most dangerous tribes.

"What were you doing here? In the middle of the night, small guy?" Min-Ji asked.

It was a dumb think to do...but Zeno didn t know what to do anymore.

So instead of telling a complete lie

"I..I was just going to retrieve my...one item, that is very important to me. I lent it to a person here," was what Zeno told the people. It was just half a lie.

Grinning at each other, laughing at his face, one of the man asked: "And who should that be...the mysterious person that borrowed something from a shrimp like you?"

" A boy with red hair and blue eyes, but actually they have a little too much red in them...He is not much older than me. His hair is reaching his shoulders," surprised they were looking at him.

The laughter subsided. Obviously they knew who he was describing.

The woman, Min-Su, lowered her spear. Her eyes showed a thoughtful expression.

Then she took out a pouch, twice as big as Zeno s fist, made out of leather, holding it before Zeno s nose.

"What is in this sac, tell me? What did my little brother steal from you?"

Her glance was piercing, but Zeno s voice was firm: " A red gem, as big as a man s fist, given to me by the King...It is a beautiful flower...in the middle the stone has the same color as the kings eyes."

The silence that ensued...You could have heard the flea coughing...

Zeno was waiting. He hoped they would believe him. If he was really that important that the king gave him such an item, than most likely they would not kill him. Did they fear King Hiryuu? Zeno didn t know. But this was his only chance.

Then Min-Ji must have come to a conclusion.

"Yeong, go and fetch my little brother. Bring Shuten with you."

An young woman, not much older than Min-Ji was turning around and went to look for the guy.

Zeno was surprised. Who was that woman, that everybody listened to her?

Soon...they could hear shouts...Yeong seemed to scream at some one and the other was answering accordingly.

With a look as dark as the sky before a storm, Shuten was glaring at Zeno.

"Shuten..."

When he heard his sister, calling his name, he was looking at the floor. Averting his eyes.

Zeno could see...He had been right. Shuten s eyes really were quite similar to King Hiryuu s eyes. Nearly the same color, just that Shutens were a little more blue than the one of King Hiryuu.

"Shuten...Look at me" was the order of the woman, who was just barely taller than her so called "little brother".

"You stole this gem from one of the subordinate of that king. Since we are also one of his believers, we cannot act like this."

Without any further word, she pushed the gem with the pouch into Zeno s hand. Surprised the boy took the pouch.

In Shuten s face, there had been all kinds of feelings present...Burning anger...if his look could have killed, Zeno would have saved himself 2000 years.

but also desperation?...Sadness...fear!...The young Shuten had still quite an open face...

So, he didn t took the gem out of creed...

* * *

 


	2. The Crow s Shuten II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two different boys from two oppositional tribes learn some interesting facts about the other...

**"The Crows s" Shuten II**

" _My strength and my might are the only thing s I trust._

_Who cares about a weak dropout?"_

_Shuten about Zeno_

The Crows made it obvious that Zeno was merely a tolerated guest. The discomfort and partly open animosity with whom he was greeted, surely didn t delude him into believing that Min-Ji s advice should be ignored.

The small lady of the Wind Tribe had advised him, to immediately leave their tribe. Her tone had been neutral, but Zeno somehow felt that she was not very fond of him or his interference. Neither were it her people.

Zeno believed that the little girl was the chief of this tribe. However, the boy couldn t remember one tribe, where a female head had ever commanded over her male subordinates.

Also…Somehow Zeno had the impression as if this person lacked in age. She was maybe about 16 years old. Or even younger.

Yeong, the woman that had pulled Shuten by his hair, was in fact a friendlier girl, than their supposed chief, or the rest of the tribe.

Her blonde hair remembered him of the woman in his tribe. Maybe it had been the chief s way of friendliness to entrust her with the task to keep him company.

The Crows surely wished to see the least of him and as soon as possible for him to leave their village, though as soon as possible didn t equate to the time Zeno wished to leave this place.

Instead, Zeno was graced with the company of Yeong and a few other young and old people. The Crows were encircling him, and he was sitting there, while all this people talked with each other, occasionally about him, though without the decency to include him in their conversations.

The old grand-ma , a very old girl with wrinkles as deep as gorges, was openly complaining about Zeno. Her face was illuminated by the fire, they were sharing, though of course, Zeno did not sit directly by the fireside. But the poor people behind him were also freezing. Yeong s lips were a little blue, but at least they had each other to keep themselves warm and blankets, of course!

" _Can you believe it…I thought that the day the death god would greet me, had come! What a stupid little boy….stumbling in our village as if he was visiting one of those erring_ towns! _Really! Just why did the chief just let him go? I would have just…"_

With a token gesture she was showing the old guy, she was talking to, what she had done in the chief s stead.

Zeno was glad that that old woman didn t had a knife right now, the gesture symbolizing to slide his throat open was not encouraging in the least.

" _Calm down, old girl. She is our leader. The daughter of the chief two generations ago. She won the fight fair and square!"_ , was the commentary of the old guy. The morning was still a few hours away. These people had to watch over him, until the last warriors of the Crows had left the village. In case he was a spy.

The old lady, though, disagreed with the old guy.

" _If Ha-Jun had been still the head of the tribe, he would have just killed the little fly!_ "

Contemptuously, she was spitting on the ground, a good portion of that liquid landed on Zeno s foot. The boy averted his eyes. They should not see the disgust on his face. The boy was not sure, if the old woman would just spare herself the troube and kill him "by accident", if he simply showed his unease.

" _After all, the way he looks like, he is either one of that damn Ouryuu fanatics or worse, one of the "Laws" fanatics. And I, for the record, trust neither of them . Self-complacent people, both of them."_

Mechanically, the old guy was nodding his head. His tribe surely wasn t popular around here.

 _"However, the little chief, his actions were quite reckless_ ," added the old guy to the conversation.

The face of that old woman, full of malice, just a moment ago, now was softening.

" _The little chief...He must have been worried himself sick. That poor child has lost his parents so soon. His sister is the only relative left. That child simply wished to make her happy, to see her smile._ "

Curiously Zeno was looking at the old woman s face.

So Shuten had a similar fate to his. He was an orphan as well.

Bitterly Zeno was thinking: " _In fact lots of children will grew up without parents and many of them won t even remember their parents´ faces."_

"Still it was quite risky. The little lad has discovered our village after all. We have been lucky, but we cannot be sure, that it won t happen again. I hope our leader does punish him accordingly. And concerning that other topic," here his voice grew lower, nearly as bitter as Zeno felt himself," _But that had been the case for as long as people might have exist here. People live and die in and for wars. So did his parents."_

 _"Yea. That is the reason, our people are going...to meet this strange king! If you ask me -but nobody is actually paying attention to what I think- I am not sure if this king is to be trusted,"_ answered the old woman.

" _Time will tell, if he is worth it. For now. We have to wait and see_ ," was the last comment of that old guy.

Zeno had believed the old woman would still keep on pestering the other party, but she as well, fell silent.

The Dawn was nearing. The first sun rays appeared behind the horizon. The old guy and the old girl, along with the rest of the group had been fallen asleep. What glorious jailers they were!

The fires had been gone out just recently, smoke was still rising to the heavens; which must mean there were still people who were awake. Zeno s eyes just like the ones of the others had grown tired and he had wished to just close them for a little while, before he also had disappeared in the land of dreams.

Zeno didn t know, what exactly had woken him up, was it the dim light of the approaching day? Had it been maybe the voices of the warriors, ready to depart?

The boy didn t know.

Just that he had opened his eyes and discovered that he was the only one awake. The only one?

Suddenly Zeno noticed the other boy. He was sitting on a ledge, his feet dangling in thin air.

With a wink of his head, commanded Shuten: _"Come with me! And be quiet._ " The red head led himself down to the ground slowly.

Carefully he followed Shuten, pressing the little pouch to his belly, though it had been quite difficult to get out of the circle of people, laying around him. His foot had been nearly stepped on a young man, occupying the space to his right side.

Why? What did he wanted to do with him? Did he wish to kill him? If so, why was he following him? Why were his feet taking one step after the other, following the other boy?

Shuten led Zeno through the village, the huts, pretty much images of the ones at home, were still silent. Just here and there were noises. Shadows of the lives of their inhabitants.

But the noises grew louder, soon the Crows would march towards the South, to meet the King!

They were passing the forest, still dark and mysterious, waiting for the day to fully begin. Shuten was wearing his spear on his back. Now Zeno realized, in the light of the early day. His hair was not really fiery red, like the one of King Hiryuu, more like the brownish red of some horses Zeno had encountered before.

" _Where are we going?_ ", Zeno finally dared to ask. His muscles were tensed. He was actually not the best fighter, but he could run away, if that boy should try something funny.

" _Out!_ ", was all the other said, without even bothering to turn around.

And really, Zeno could see in the distance, the small river going underground.

" _Why are you helping me?_ ", Zeno wished to know. If that guy answered in a strange kind of way, Zeno had still the chance to run away.

" _I am not helping you._ "

Zeno tensed and stopped.

Finally Shuten turned around: "Relax! _I don t want that my sister has to protect you. She is our leader. They shouldn t question her decisions._ "

His voice had been firm and nearly cold.

" _But don t you make the situation even worse?"_

Zeno could have kicked himself for that last sentence.

Shuten shook his head.

" _No. Not when I declare that I had wished to spare you the trouble. Also who has said, that I let you go immediately? When the warriors of the Crows leave the village, I will wave at them in your presence. Then they know that I have kept watch over you. Easy!_ "

Shuten was sitting down by the river.

" _We just have to wait until then. But it won t take them much more time. My sisters wished to move at dawn_."

The whole situation was clearly strange. On the other hand, after the warriors had left the village, who knows, if that grand-ma hadn t tried to kill him?

Zeno said down so that he could face the other boy, Shuten s eyes followed him.

Now they both had to wait.

Zeno was trying to not directly stare at the others face. However, the former conversation had stimulated his interest in the two siblings.

Their faces were slightly similar and a small portion of their behaviour also resembled the one of the other. The way of scaring the hell out of their opponents, surely was also a feature both, brother and sister, shared.

As much as he hated to admit it...Shuten s way to look at him, intimidated him. The cold, firm look...just like the eyes of a predator observing his prey.

The little boy was shivering. This person would be a cruel enemy!

Actually, Zeno hadn t heard a single noise, but Shuten s eyes grew larger, his expression became livelier and Zeno wondered if this guy was maybe more of a child than he first had considered.

Excited the other one was climbing the steep face, completely forgetting about him. Zeno could have just run away. Though he was also curious. After he had tied the pouch to his belly, he crabbed at the rocks and tried to scale this huge mess of a rock. He had nearly fallen down,though small and rather weak, Zeno was quite agile.

Carefully he lifted his body higher and higher.

Shuten was already standing at the top. When Zeno glanced at him from the side, Shuten had quite the child-like joy on his face.

Before them, a huge mass of people was streaming down there. The Crows heads were decorated with pearls and feathers, sitting on the backs of their horses, equally adorned with feathers. At the top of the crowd, there she was.

So her hair is black! The leader of the Crows was sitting on a horse as dark as the night. A white star on its face.

Min-Ji s hair was braided in a beautiful thick plait falling falling down her back, embellished with certain brown feathers. Her cloak was as blue as the beautiful sky in the middle of a day.

 _"The feather s of an eagle_ ," was Shuten s murmured response, as if he had heard him.

All of them were riding a horse and just a few of them were walking by foot. For Zeno, this was extraordinary. Pretty much nobody owned a horse or even a donkey in his village. Their weapons were glinting in the light of the new day.

" _It is amazing that they nearly all have horses and their weapons are so big!"_ Zeno was fascinated, how different from his tribe!

" _That is nothing special. Pretty much all the tribes must have this kind of weapons or have horses."_

The son of the "Little Birds" smiled bitterly

" _No, my tribe hasn t. There are hardly people who are able to buy a horse. Most of our warriors are foot soldiers._ "

Zeno observed that this discovery shook Shuten a little bit. His eyes grew wider. Obviously he hadn t considered that other tribes weren t that well off.

" _I thought..._ ," his voice was barely audible," _I just wanted...for her to stay alive...for all of them to stay alive._ "

" _What?_ " Zeno was clearly surprised. He had not expected to get an explanation for the stolen gem.

" _I just thought, that the gem would be enough, so that they could buy even better weapons or horses for the ones without one,_ " Shuten was still talking in a pretty low voice.

Zeno was looking at the scene in silence. The warriors full of pride, how they haughtily presented their weapons...how many of them would die? Would King Hiryuu s quest be without sacrifices?

The pouch bound to his belly felt so heavy...Zeno thought of his own parents, whose faces he barely remembered. Maybe he had a few memories of them, but he was not sure, if it had not been just stories he had invented for himself.

How could he have not at least tried it?

Zeno was undoing the pouch and holding it to the boy of the other tribe.

" _Here. I think that you may need it more than me,_ " Zeno was smiling kindly at him.

Shocked Shuten was starring at his hand.

Firmly he just shook his head.

" _Keep it. It s yours. I was wrong to take it_."

The son of the "Little Birds" was still holding the gem, before the son of the "Crows".

" _Take it. My village is not at war right now. I think you need it more than me."_

Shuten was pushing his hand away. Zeno even nearly dropped the gem, desperately he tried to prevent it.

" _See. It is far more important to you, than for me."_

Shuten of the Crow nearly smiled.

" _But..._ ", Zeno was still hesitating. People would most likely die. Whatever King Hiryuu wished to achieve, most likely there would be victims.

"Do you think, that we "Crows" are that weak _?_ " The look that was shot at Zeno was several degrees cooler than a moment ago.

" _We will survive. Relax. Son of the "Little Birds", you guys might die in the meantime, while my tribe will gain more land,"_

Outspreading his arms, he grinned coldly at Zeno.

" _Don t forget. Son of the "Little Birds". We are still enemies. Bye_ "

With a wave of his hand, he descended the scarp slope.

 _"Zeno! What are you doing above there!,_ " Zeno heard Geuntae s scream from behind.

He wanted to turn around, when he heard from the other direction.

 _"May we see us never again! Son of the "Little Birds"_!

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors note:
> 
> Shuten:
> 
> As much as I want it. I don t think that this guy would be a friendly, nice human being the first time you met him. The way he addressed Zeno in his memories, rather suggest, that Shuten had a problem with trusting other people, or like I interpreted it here, with people from different tribes.
> 
> Shuten would most likely judge his enemies/friends based on their strength. And Zeno was weak, so their interactions are pretty rocky in the beginning. In addition I let them meet when they are still little boys and Zeno might consider Shuten far more cruel than he actually is.
> 
> Later that would change. I thought that Shuten matured in the long run, but also that Zeno s reactions changed and that also contributed to their better relationship.
> 
> Min-Ji:
> 
> A male in the Akatsuki no Yona universe is actually her reincarnation. Guess who? She surely will have a bigger impact on the story.
> 
> I would really appreciate it, if you could tell me, how you liked the story so far. Thanks!

**Author's Note:**

> Author s note:
> 
> I think I was quite surprised, when I ve discovered that Shuten and King Hiryuu/Yona have similar eye colors. Why not give them similar hair too?


End file.
